Miner: No State Senate Run in the Cards

Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner, who is barred by term limits from seeking re-election to her current office, says “it’s flattering” to be mentioned as a potential state Senate contender, but she has no plans to run at the moment.

Miner said her name has been floated by “strangers that I don’t know” who have not spoken with her directly as a potential candidate next year for Senate Deputy Majority Leader John DeFrancisco’s seat.

The mayor also noted that she doesn’t live in the Republican lawmaker’s district, which would make running difficult, and has no desire to move.

“I like my house; I like my neighborhood,” Miner said. “I will continue to be an advocate for the people of the city of Syracuse and continue to try to solve problems. I know that there are a whole host of ways that that can be fulfilled.”

“For right now, for the next two years, I have a rare and great and privileged opportunity to represent the people of the city of Syracuse,” the mayor continued. “And every day I’m thankful for that privilege, and every day I work very hard to make sure the people feel like they…made the right decision.”

This isn’t the first time people have tried to put Miner and DeFrancisco against each other.

In 2013, some local Republicans tried to get the senator to run for mayor of Syracuse, but he declined, saying he’s not interested in that job, even though he has been repeatedly mentioned as a potential candidate over the years.

Miner’s profile has steadily risen in recent years, in part due to her willingness to publicly challenge the governor’s policies – even when she was serving as his hand-picked co-chair of the state Democratic Party (a position she has since relinquished).

Miner enjoys a warm relationship with DeFrancisco, who was rumored to be considering retirement from the Senate (a claim both he and Onondaga County GOP Chairman Tom Dadey have denied) before he threw his hat into the ring to replace former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos as leader of the GOP conference after Skelos was forced to step down due to a federal corruption scandal.

DeFrancisco lost out in that leadership battle to Sen. John Flanagan, who, like Skelos, hails from Long Island. The outcome of that battle continues to rankle some upstaters – especially gun rights advocates, who were not at all happy with the idea of Flanagan, a “yes” vote on the SAFE Act, leading the Senate.

Flanagan tried to quell that displeasure by tapping DeFrancisco to serve as his No. 2 after the former deputy majority leader, Tom Libous, was ousted from his Binghamton seat when he was found guilty of a felony federal corruption charge.

Some members of the pro-2nd Amendment movement remain unhappy with Flanagan, and are vowing to back primary challengers to upstate Republican senators who supported him over DeFrancisco. So far, no challengers have stepped forward, but petition season for the 2016 elections remains very far off in the future.